It was a day of upsets at the Global Chess League, as Magnus Carlsen and Alireza Firouzja were handed defeats. The PBG Alaskan Knights extended their dominant run with a commanding victory over the Ganges Grandmasters.
upGrad Mumba Masters vs Alpine Sg Pipers: Magnus Carlsen stunned by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
In a stunning upset, the upGrad Mumba Masters defeated the favored Alpine Sg Pipers. The match started calmly, with a relatively quick draw on one of the women's boards between Hou Yifan and Humpy Koneru. However, the tide soon turned dramatically against the Pipers.
On board one, Magnus Carlsen was left reeling after a blunder in a combination allowed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to claim victory. In response, Pipers' R. Praggnanandhaa delivered a fierce attack against Vidit Gujrathi's Black king, securing a win and keeping the Pipers in the match. On the second superstar board, Peter Svidler - who up to this point recorded two losses and four draws - claimed his first victory of the tournament, defeating Richard Rapport with the black pieces.
Things worsened for the Sg Pipers from there: Kateryna Lagno narrowly avoided defeat as Harika Dronavalli ran out of time, resulting in a draw. To cap it off, Daniel Dardha was defeated by Raunak Sadhwani in a tense rook endgame.
The Mumba Masters capitalized on the momentum, securing a dominant 14-5 win and delivering a major blow to the Pipers' chances of closing in on the league's leaders.
Triveni Continental Kings vs American Gambits: Triveni stunned as Firouzja suffers first loss
In the second match of the day, defending champions Triveni Continental Kings were defeated by American Gambits 14-5. The match saw Alireza Firouzja lose the first game in the tournament - blundering in an even rook endgame against world number two, Hikaru Nakamura.
Their reaction says it all 😲
Hikaru stops the unstoppable in Stake presents #TechMGCL Season 2🔥#TCKvAG #TechMGCL #TheNextMove | @FIDE_chess | @chesscom | @chesscom_in | @tech_mahindra | @MahindraRise | @trivenickings | @AmericanGambits pic.twitter.com/94NGkjvHWC
- Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (@GCLlive) October 8, 2024
The first shock came when Triveni's Valentina Gunina erred in a winning position against Elisabeth Paehtz, overlooking a rook and handing the American Gambits an early lead. Then, on the icon board, Triveni's Firouzja lost an even rook endgame to Nakamura. After the game, Nakamura quickly left the arena, while Firouzja-suffering his first defeat in the league-remained at the board, visibly stunned, as he put the pieces back in starting position.
The setbacks continued for Triveni: on the superstar board, Wei Yi failed to capitalize on a better position against Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and both Teimour Radjabov and Yu Yangyi drew their games. The decisive blow came from Bibisara Assaubayeva, who turned a losing position around to defeat former World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk. The only bright spot for Triveni was Javokhir Sindarov, who delivered a win against Jonas Bjerre on the prodigy board.
PBG Alaskan Knights vs Ganges Grandmasters: PBG continue strong
The day's action ended with the PBG Alaskan Knights defeating Ganges Grandmasters 15-4. Playing with Black, the Alaskan Knights started with a defeat but soon took control of the match, winning on three boards.
Ganges, playing as White, took an early lead as Parham Maghsoodloo beat Shakhriyar Mamedyarov on the second superstar board. However, PBG's Anish Giri quickly levelled the score, defeating Vishwanathan Anand with the Black after Anand made a costly mistake, entering a lost endgame.
Despite initially creating a promising position, PBG's Nodirbek Abdusattorov could not convert his advantage and drew with Arjun Erigaisi. Meanwhile, Ganges' Vaishali Rameshbabu first saved a losing position but then dropped a victory against former women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi, finishing the game in a draw.
That's what you call Lightning Speed âš¡#TechMGCL #TheNextMove #TCKvAG | @tech_mahindra | @FIDE_chess | @chesscom | @chesscom_in | @GangesGMs | @balanalaskank | @MahindraRise pic.twitter.com/vHMMyMtWNK
- Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (@GCLlive) October 8, 2024
PBG then scored an important victory when Alina Kashlinskaya confidently defeated Nurgyul Salimova on board five, pushing the score to 10-4. Nihal Sarin defeated Volodar Murzin to seal the victory, bringing the final score to 14-5 for PBG Alaskan Knights.
With six victories in seven matches, the PBG Alaskan Knights are comfortably at the top, with 18 match points - six more than Triveni and Alpine Sg Pipers. With three more matches remaining before the knockout stage, PBG need just one victory to secure a place in the finals.
Despite this, PBG's top board Anish Giri was cautious about his team's position: "It's not done yet, we still need to get to the final and win. But so far it's going well and I'm happy with everything, that's for sure".